LACEY – A traffic study is being performed to determine what changes could be made to Route 9, officials said.
“We are hopeful it will help alleviate traffic,” Mayor Peter Curatolo said.
Department of Transportation employees would be recording information in the southern portion of Route 9, from Sunrise Boulevard to Waretown. The study would look at the timing of the traffic lights and how many vehicles are going through, he said.
“We want residents in the southern part of town to have a traffic-free experience,” he said.
“NJDOT will undertake a study this fiscal year in response to the request from Lacey officials to examine the Route 9 corridor,” said Stephen Schapiro, director of communications for the DOT. “If it is determined that traffic signal changes are warranted, NJDOT will work with the town on executing a cost sharing agreement. Once an agreement is signed, it can take several months for utility work and proper installations to be completed.”
Schapiro went on to describe the process the DOT follows when a town requests changes. The town has to promise to provide the required 25 percent funding. Then, the DOT investigates whether changes are needed. If the changes meet federal guidelines and other rules, then the DOT would make a determination.
Meanwhile, township officials are hoping that one traffic solution would be the paving of a portion of the rail trail. The road would allow residents to leave Route 9 at Sunrise Boulevard, and take the new road to a new traffic signal between the Forked River School and the St. Pius X church. This road was controversial because environmentalists wanted the area preserved and free from vehicle traffic.
